Friday, 30 April 2010

Think pink...

Think cherry blossom on neighbour's tree with branches reaching into our garden. Think rainy day that needs brightening up a little, perchance with a spot of colour. Think Swede on a mission with scissors. Think father-in-law's old egg cup with his initials and a lovely, naturally aged vintage look. Think pretty in pink.

After a long grey winter, the universe is once more a symphony of colours. And I, I am humming along to a perfectly pitched pink tune...

Thursday, 29 April 2010

Star struck...again!

If I were to put every single star thing in our house (with a star shape or star pattern) in one pile, I would beat Jack and his weedy little Beanstalk in one swift starry swoop. I do not know what it is about stars, but I find them irresistibly yummy!

In this picture, I have gathered a few of the star cushions I have made in recent years for the Swenglish home. (The picnic blanket is a bargain find from - I think - Rusta in Sweden a few years ago.) Oh, and a LOVE cushion snuck into the picture as well, entrance granted because of its matching colours... The cushions are all made with a mix of new fabrics and recycled ones, for example my old denim skirt, a red/beige-stripy top my son grew out of, a checked dress, etc.

Like some of the old fabrics above, I hope today you will feel invigorated with new life, and that the day leaves you with a sprinkling of star dust!

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

A spectacularly blue spectacle...

The bluebell season has started. In this region it tends to mean that thousands of people find their way to the nearest bluebell-infested forest to try to capture the blue rug spectacle on film. This year, I will try to make it to one of the famous, drippingly blue spots for the first time. Awaiting that, I picked some in our garden today...

And with this rather blue and white entry, I would like to send a special greeting to all my Finnish readers. It is lovely to see you here - kiitos for visiting!

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

... and violets are blue...

A few years ago, I stumbled across this meat grinder in a junk shop here in the UK. The man in the house had been wanting one for some time, and you can imagine my delight when not only did I find one for him, but the next minute saw the familiar "Made in Sweden" on its shiny torso! For a couple of pounds, this chunky Swede (yes, still referring to meat grinder!) was released from its junk orphanage and offered a new home with the Swenglish humans.

No later had the meat grinder clanked across the threshold of its new foster home, when we realised we had found ourselves a rather romantic new family member. More than once have I arrived home to find it frolicking with flower petals or stray pieces of lace. It must be something about the contrast of the hard and the soft, the chunky and the delicate... To some it may seem a little like David meets Goliath, or like a mouse stroking the ears of an elephant.

Monday, 26 April 2010

The fairy tale next door...

One of my favourite neighbouring villages is Castle Combe. It is a 10-15-minute drive from us, or a pleasant, long Sunday walk. Either way, what greets you on your arrival - provided they are not shooting a film there on the day you come - is a village so pretty it is almost unbearable. I am used to it now, of course, so I can handle it.

But only just.

It still takes my breath away, fuels me with a desire to write a fairy tale, an itch to create a costume drama or at least compose a little crime detective novel, Agatha Christie-style.

If only I could...

In the meantime, I drool and dribble and try not to get too much excited saliva on the lens as I snap-snap-snap up the views, as if I could bottle them and bring out whenever I craved a little castlecombing at home.

If only I could...

The thing is, you see, these are not just some theatre props, this is a living village, with real people leading their real lives behind those doors. They may not be allowed to change the exterior of their houses, should they be overcome by a desire to paint their house cerise. No, that is a no-no. The buildings are listed and cannot be messed with. Personally, I would not change a thing, if I were ever given the chance to live in one of them.

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Do you sniff at dandelions the way most people do, reject them as an unwelcome visitor, repudiate them as were they the scum of the earth?

No, I am sure you don't. You probably see the sun in their eyes, their happy little faces with the yellow lion's mane around. The dandy lion.

And so it were that a few old spice bottle-jar-thingies from IKEA many years ago, became the glass swings that took these yellow flowers on their first ever airborne ride.When I left them to go into the house just now, I am sure I heard a faint wheee-whopeee from the swinging weeds. Or perhaps it was just the wind...

Saturday, 24 April 2010

Bringing the outside in...

Today I invited a little bit of garden spirit into the house. I do not do fake plants or flowers of any kind, but these polystyrene apples have been with me for many years. Today they left their normal residence in the old Turkish wooden trough on the floor, and after some spring-enthused dancing around the room, landed in a heap. Literally.

My beloved crown, made by my kind father after my showing him a picture in - I think it was - Jeanne D'Arc Living, was invited to the apple assembly, and seemed to enjoy the company.

Moss may seem a little Christmassy to some, but in my world, there is always room for some green fluffiness.

Friday, 23 April 2010

A garden of love...

Well, I wish our garden looked like it was loved and cared for, but after last year's building work and a constant shortage of time, it certainly does look more like a neglected child than a pampered one. What I was referring to was of course the translation of "Jardin d'amour" on the pot above.

Perhaps it will inspire to grand and lovable changes on our little plot of wilderness this summer.

Perhaps it will keep the heron from gobbling up the fish in our pond this year (luckily, a few were spared last year, and you can see a shimmer of orange under the surface in the pond picture below).

Or perhaps it will teach me how to love the creepy crawlies with which we share our garden of love...

Thursday, 22 April 2010

... even if only to the first floor, where a very young man resides in a very tiny room.

When I put up the dandelion wallpaper on the feature wall, the man in house muttered something about it not being very boy-ish.

Alright, so he might have had a point there.

Not the most macho of blokey boy rooms, but my guess is that it won't be long before the walls are covered in posters of unpronounceable music bands not yet invented, and yours truly - the only female in a house lopsided by testosterone - will be fighting for a hint of a feminine touch to the decor anywhere in the Swenglish home. I will probably have to erect a bloke-free zone, where my hearts and I can curl up together and look at pink pictures in magazines. Just to yin-and-yangify the place a little. Even out the forces. The battle of the sexes, in a small, decorative-driven way.

So for now, this little man lives with a not-so-blokey wall. And guess what, he doesn't mind one bit. And I continue to blow little puffs of pink girliness wherever I can. I know my days are counted.

Click on the image to visit my Interior Styling & Photography website

Welcome to my blog, where I hope to share a few glimpses of interior and garden decorating ideas and of the life of a Swede in the UK. Unable and unwilling to stick to one style, my house hosts a mix of Swedish-Danish-French country style, with a hint of New England and a whiff of the Orient. I tend to surround myself with pale, calming colours, but sometimes also flirt with a more spicy palette. With inspiration from nature, recycled items and a dose of cheeky playfulness, I try to see beauty in the little things and items that may at first appear scruffy and 'past their best'. I hope you may find some inspiration here. Välkomna!

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are my own, so please ask if you would like to borrow them, and always state the source.

Some of my photos from the Swenglish Home featured in Franciska Munck Johansen's book...

Out now - Click on the image to see where it is sold

Some of my photos in Franciska Munck Johansen's Christmas book......

Out in November 2012

Our home featured in...

April issue 2012

Our home featured in German magazine Landhaus...

July/August issue 2012

Our home featured in...

Hungarian Interior Magazin Otthon, 2013/06

Some of my photos in ...

Norwegian magazine Vakre Hjem, March 2011

Some of my ideas and photos in...

Hungarian magazine A Mi Otthonunk, Dec 2011

Some of my photos, texts and ideas in...

Wiltshire Magazine April/May 2012

Some of my work published in...

Wedding Flowers Magazine July/August 2012

Some of my work published in...

Good Homes Magazine, February 2013

The Swenglish Home is a member of...

About me

I am a forty-something Swede and I live with my familyin an 18th-century cottage in a small hamlet outside Bath in the UK. I previously lived in an early Victorian house nearby, the interior of which is the one featured here during the first four years of the Swenglish Home blog (Feb 2010 - Feb 2014). When I am not busy picking flowers by the road side or plotting a new interior project, I work as a university lecturer and consultant in Intercultural Communication.

For my work as a Communication Consultant and University lecturer, see my website: